Bexar voters facing big decisions in the fall

Express-News Editorial Board

Updated 10:52 pm, Tuesday, March 4, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — Tuesday's Bexar County primary elections set the stage for some significant decisions in the fall.

Most notably, the coming contest for county judge provides voters with a dramatic contrast that provides an opportunity to define the mission of county government and will serve as a de facto referendum on streetcars.

Incumbent Nelson Wolff, a Democrat seeking his fourth full term in office, survived a nasty primary battle with County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson.

Republican Carlton Soules, a former City Council member who easily defeated his underfunded primary foe, wants to yank the choke chain on Bexar County government's expanding portfolio.

Wolff has led the charge on a significant list of projects during his tenure, including enhancing the county's public hospital system, the Mission Reach improvements on the San Antonio River and a bevy of amateur athletic facilities across the county.

But Soules takes issue with the planned VIA Metropolitan Transit streetcar system and a project to improve San Pedro Creek — both backed by Wolff.

Soules will offer a more austere, back-to-basics approach that concentrates on outlying areas and leaves downtown investments to city government.

In the district attorney contest, Democrats Nicholas “Nico” LaHood and Therese Huntzinger were locked in a close battle Tuesday night for the right to challenge incumbent Susan Reed, who is seeking her fifth term.

District attorneys frequently encounter controversy, and few last in the job as long as Reed. Her current term has brought more bumps in the road than usual, but both Democrats have baggage, too.

This contest won't be pretty.

The judicial lineup will not be clear until after the May 27 runoffs, but voters will have their work cut out for them in November. More than 30 contested judicial races will be on the fall ballot.